


Sound the Fanfare

by angsthao



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Amusement Parks, Carnival, Horror, Mystery, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-01 19:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12711375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angsthao/pseuds/angsthao
Summary: You are given your first assignment: the case of Fantastic Night Carnival. Together with Special Forces 9, you will unravel the mystery of the carnival's unwanted deaths while trying your best to survive the dangers the carnival brings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok look i am not abandoning my bestfriend's love story, i'm currently working on the update but i just can't get the right feeling i need to convey so it's taking long (+ acads as usual)
> 
> also i had this idea since murder games resurfaced again on twitter thanks to adorehyuk's room 101, i was actually gonna post it there first but what i thought didn't fit for a game so i just did it in fic style -- which means this is my first time writing about horror/mystery and also first time writing about sf9 as i have been in to them the past days
> 
> this is going to be short as far as i'm concered and hopefully i get to update this everyday to maximize my one whole week of no classes (thanks to asean summit)
> 
> kudos and comments are well appreciated (yes pls pls pls give me feedbacks i appreciate them a lot, really)
> 
> have fun reading!

“Mr. Lee wants you at his office now,” you hear your secretary say as you finish drinking your _first_ coffee of the day. He adds, “I think you’re having your _first_ case. The weird thing though is he’s not the only person in his office. I guess you better check it out to know what the real deal is.”

“Thank you,” you say as you place your mug on your desk. You stand up and fix yourself. “I’ll let you know what we’ll talk about when we’re done,” you say as you head out to your office and into Mr. Lee’s.

You hear murmurs the moment you come in. You see Mr. Lee talking to nine boys who are most likely have the same age as you. Mr. Lee smiles when he sees you, then points to the seat next to a guy unfamiliar to you. You slowly make your way there and sit, nodding to the guy beside you as a sign of greeting. The guy nods back.

“Nice, we’re all here!” Mr. Lee greeted when you’re settled. “Shall we talk about our agenda now?”

You nod. You then look at the other boys and you see them nod as well, except for one who shouts in excitement. Mr. Lee laughs at him, followed by the rest of the boys. You shyly laugh as well.

Mr. Lee looks at you and speaks, “Your first assignment is here, and these guys are going to help you out in solving the case.”

The boys smile at you, and you smile back to them as well. You think that these boys might help you in the case you are about to receive.

Mr. Lee places two folders in front of you, one in white and the other in a gold shade. He explains, “The white folder contains the case you are handling, while the gold folder contains the profiles of these boys joining you. What would you like to know first?”

“I’d like to know about the case first,” you say as you open the white folder.

“I see you are eager to know the case,” Mr. Lee says in amusement. “Since you have been interning for us, the higher ups have decided to give your first case as a heavy one. You have showed exceptional skills during your internship, making the higher ups give you a challenging case to solve.”

The boys clap at what they hear, while Mr. Lee chuckled. He then continues, “Two of your companions here are currently interns, so you can help them improve their skills. After their internship, they’ll fully work along with them.”

You nod and smile. You are delighted to hear that interns will be helping you in the case. _“I guess they have great skills which make them interns for a special detective group,”_ you think. _“It feels like I’ll learn more from them than them learning more from me.”_

Mr. Lee then plays a presentation on the white board. “The family of Seoul’s old mayor, Mayor Han Seongho, wants to restore the carnival he first founded back in his days. Unfortunately, the family’s workers died working to restore the carnival. The deaths lead the family to temporarily stop the revival of the carnival.”

As Mr. Lee speaks, you slowly look at the contents of the white folder. You see the name of the carnival, _Fantastic Night Carnival_ , along with the founder, Mayor Han. You also see a brief history of the carnival, along with the list of people who died reviving the carnival and their possible causes of death.

Mr. Lee looks at you and speaks, “You will handle this case.” He then looks at the boys who are with you. “These nine guys will help you in whatever means they could. They are the _Special Forces 9_. Their members have been in field for a few years now, so they have more knowledge in handling heavy cases like this. You can ask help from them whenever you need to.”

The nine boys stand up and do their greeting. They are about to individually introduce themselves when Mr. Lee says, “You can have this day as a warm up to know each other more, and also a day to have enough rest for the coming  days to come.”

You all nod at him. “I hope that this case is going to have a great outcome,” Mr. Lee says. “You may now go.”

You thank Mr. Lee and go out of the room. One of the guys calls you and asks, “Hey, you want to join us? We’re going to eat at a Chinese restaurant and we thought it would be nice to get to know you more there before we go to work tomorrow. Is that okay?”

You look at the guy intently. He seems to be younger than you, but he sure is taller than you. You notice how he somehow has a cold gaze, and how he suddenly smiles at you as if he is the calming waves of the ocean. You shyly smiled.

“I haven’t introduced myself,” he realizes. “Well, neither of us did, but I’m sure we’ll get to know each other more at the restaurant.” He then offers his hand in front of you. “I’m Youngkyun, but they sometimes call me Hwiyoung. I’m one of the interns in SF9.”

You wonder what he meant with SF9. “Special Forces 9, I mean. It’s pretty long when you say it so we sometimes just say the name as SF9,” he says as if he’s answering your invisible query.

You shake his hand and introduce yourself. He smiles again, which low key makes you melt inside.

“I’m coming along,” you say once you reach your office. “I’ll meet you guys at the lobby after I get my things.”

Youngkyun nods at you and joins the boys as they head for the elevator.

Your secretary asks you about the meeting with Mr. Lee. You say your first case, which he’s delighted to hear. You also mention about how SF9 will help you in the case to come. He says that SF9 is famous for handling big cases and you’ll learn a lot from them. With that thought, you can’t help yourself but get more excited for tomorrow.

After a few more conversations, you say good bye to your secretary and go out of your office. You cannot wait to get to know more of the people who are about to help you in your first case.

 

 

“We’re glad that you accepted our offer of eating with us,” the guy in front of you tells. “We can’t wait to work with you starting tomorrow.”

You are at the Chinese restaurant with the boys you’ve met in your meeting with Mr. Lee. They haven’t introduced themselves yet, but you can tell that they’re a great bunch.

“I can’t wait either,” you tell them. “I also can’t wait to learn more from you.”

The guy laughs. “I feel like we’ll learn more from you, though! Anyway, my name is Inseong,” he introduces himself as he takes a dumpling. “You guys should introduce yourselves too!” He tells the other members.

 

> _Name:_ Inseong Kim  
>  _Age:_ 24 years old  
>  _Pros:_ great communication skills, great decoding skills, can do extensive research on an assignment  
>  _Cons:_ lacks physical strength, gets nervous easily, short-tempered

“Can you speak without eating, Inseong?” The guy beside him asks. “Sorry, he’s like that sometimes,” he then talks to you. “I’m Jaeyoon, and it’s nice meeting you.”

 

> _Name:_ Jaeyoon Lee  
>  _Age:_ 23 years old  
>  _Pros:_ great at finding evidence, can do extensive research on an assignment, can infer things quickly  
>  _Cons:_ a little bit intimidating, nags when things aren’t done right, gets lost easily

“I’m Juho,” the guy beside Jaeyoon says without lifting his eyes from his plate. _“Wow, he’s scary,”_ you tell yourself.

 

> _Name:_ Juho Baek  
>  Age: 21 years old  
>  _Pros:_ great at finding evidence, great at handing electric wirings, great communication skills  
>  _Cons:_ a little bit bossy, a deep sleeper, gets flustered when he doesn’t know what to do

“Sorry for Juho,” the guy in front of Juho butts in. “He’s scary when you first meet him, but he’s a really nice person. I’m Seokwoo or Rowoon, whichever fits your style more.”

 

> _Name:_ Seokwoo Kim (Rowoon)  
>  _Age:_ 21 years old  
>  _Pros:_ great communication skills, great decoding skills, helps easily when in need of manpower  
>  _Cons:_ not the best at doing research, clumsy when handling evidence, gets nervous easily

“I’m Youngbin,” the person in between you and Seokwoo talks. “I’m the general leader of the group, and also the one who has been in the field for longest.”

 

> _Name:_ Youngbin Kim  
>  _Age:_ 24 years old  
>  _Pros:_ leads his team well, great at handling electric wirings, great physical strength  
>  _Cons:_ a little bit bossy, gets flustered when he doesn’t know what to do, not the best at memorizing details

“Hey, I’m also in the field for longest!” Inseong butts in.

“Shut up, Inseong! You’re done talking,” the person beside you to the right butts in. “Anyway, hello there! I’m Sanghyuk. I may be called Dawon as well.”

 

> _Name:_ Sanghyuk Lee (Dawon)  
>  _Age:_ 22 years old  
>  _Pros:_ has enough energy to stay up late during night missions, brightens up heavy atmosphere, great at handling evidence  
>  _Cons:_ too noisy at times, a deep sleeper, gets distracted after a while

“Oh, just call him Dawon. No one calls him Sanghyuk within our circle,” Youngkyun, who is beside him, talks. “I’ve introduced myself this morning but let me do it again for formality. I’m Youngkyun, or Hwiyoung if you want to call me that.”

 

> _Name:_ Youngkyun Kim (Hwiyoung)  
>  _Age:_ 18 years old  
>  _Pros:_ extremely long patience, most focused person, great at finding and handling evidence  
>  _Cons:_ always gets in danger, lacks physical strength, infers things slowly

 “I’m Chanhee,” the guy in front of Youngkyun tells you. “I’m the youngest in the group, and I’m also an intern in SF9.”

 

> _Name:_ Chanhee Kang  
>  _Age:_ 17 years old  
>  _Pros:_ can do extensive research on an assignment, can infer things quickly, bravest person  
>  _Cons:_ nags when things aren’t done right, not the best at handling evidences, a little playful at times

“I’m the last guy who hasn’t introduced yet,” the guy beside Chanhee says. “I’m Taeyang, the recently added full time worker in SF9. It’s nice to meet you!”

 

> _Name:_ Taeyang Yoo  
>  _Age:_ 20 years old  
>  _Pros:_ extremely long patience, great at the little details, can infer things quickly  
>  _Cons:_ gets distracted after a while, not the best at finding evidence, a little playful at times

You finally introduce yourself after their parade of introductions. They tell that they’re happy to work with you as they’ve heard great things about you. You secretly blush to the compliments that you receive.

“It is an honor for us to work with you for your first case,” Youngbin tells you after they calm down. “It may give you pressure to accomplish this _huge_ case, especially that this is also your _first_ , but always remember that you have us to guide you when you’re having a hard time.”

“We may have been in work longer than you, but there are times we also get confused about the evidences we get or even the whole case itself. Don’t be afraid to ask us anything. We’ll make sure that your first case will be a hit!” Inseong adds.

You smile at their words of encouragement. “Thank you for the warm words, guys. I may have had previous cases solved, but I am still nervous in accomplishing this first case of mine. I can’t wait to learn a lot from you guys.”

They cheer for you.

Hopefully, this first case of yours is going to be a hit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i am back as promised! i think i wrote this for almost the whole day? haha, enjoy reading! kudos and comments are highly appreciated <3

Day 1

“Wow, how are we going to deal with this?” You look at Sanghyuk who’s currently gawking at the place in front of him.

You are all in front of Fantastic Night Carnival, your first _official_ assignment. You see that the place looks creepy with the old carnival rides, although there are some rides that may have been renovated as you notice the new machines. You also notice that there are no establishments beside the carnival, and it gives you chills on your spine. You suddenly want to back out, but you realize that the higher ups trust you so you start walking inside the carnival.

“Hey, are you sure we’re going inside?” Jaeyoon asks as he catches up.

You answer, “Yes, why not? This is our assignment. We need to gather evidences and data to solve the case. If we don’t enter, what are we going to do then?”

“Are you sure we have to enter?” Jaeyoon asks once again.

You look at him sternly. “Yes, it’s better if we get inside before the night comes.”

Jaeyoon sighs and calls the group. You slowly make your way to the carnival’s entrance when you see a guy in front of the gate. You wonder who he is and why he is standing in front of the carnival.

“I assume you’re the detectives that will inspect the carnival today,” the guy greets you. “I am Chanyeol Park. I live near the place.”

You nod at him. You notice how he looks like he shares the same age as you. You think that he might help you in this case, but at the same time you also think he’s a person you shouldn’t trust.

“If you guys plan to sleep over, the carnival’s office is clean enough for you to settle,” he says after a while. “Here’s my number, call me if you need anything.”

He gives you a piece of paper with his number. You thank him for that, and go inside the carnival after you talk.

“I don’t think you should trust that guy,” Youngkyun whispers to you as you find the carnival’s office. “I don’t think the office publicized this case.”

“Me neither,” you say as you take a deep breath. “Why is he here in the first place?”

“That’s what we don’t know, and what we need to find out along with the whole carnival case,” Taeyang says as he puts his arm over your shoulder. “For now, it’s better if we should settle at the carnival’s office and talk about what we need to do for today.”

You nod at them as you finally reach the carnival’s office. You all go inside and put down the things you brought with you for the case. After you settle, you all sit in a circle to discuss what you are going to do for the day.

“This is it, your first case,” Youngbin tells as he reads the content inside the white folder you also have. “It’s a good thing that the higher ups asked us for help because this is a case you won’t be able to solve alone.”

“What do we do today, then?” Seokwoo asks you. They all look at you as well.

You bring out the list you wrote last night, which contains the things you need to accomplish for the day. You take a deep breath and talk to them about it.

“Sorry, I’m a little nervous,” you start. “The first few things we need to do is to look for the carnival’s history and the carnival’s map. For the carnival’s history, we need to look at how it was formed, how it lasted, and what happened after Mayor Han died. I feel like the deaths had something to do with the history of the carnival.”

“Inseong, Jaeyoon, and I will do that,” Chanhee volunteers. “We’re the bunch that’s great on research, and we usually do that part when we have assignments as well.”

“That’s good. You can start doing that now,” you tell him. The three gather around and do their thing while you continue. “For the carnival’s map, we need it to look for evidences in the rides. I suggest that we go by threes when we search evidences so we don’t consume more time here. The faster we are, the quicker we can solve this. I don’t want to stay here for a long time and I know you guys don’t like it either.”

“Since this is the carnival’s office, don’t you think there might be maps here?” Youngbin asks.

“Good point,” you tell him. “Let’s start searching for the map.”

You are about to stand up when Juho gives you a piece of paper. “That’s the map, I found it on the head manager’s table,” he tells you.

You thank him as he returns to his spot. You observe the map and start grouping the rides together. While you are doing that, the three guys doing their research call you to go to them.

“Did anything come up?” You ask.

“We did, but aside from that we noticed something fishy about the search results,” Inseong answers.

“What did you find then?”

“The Fantastic Night Carnival opened in July 1983, a year after Seongho Han became the mayor of Seoul. He built the carnival to provide happiness and recreation to the people of Seoul. The carnival is a big hit with people from Seoul and outside Seoul flocking to experience the happiness Mayor Han provided with the carnival. The carnival ran for more than ten years, making it the most successful carnival in Korea,” Inseong shares.

Jaeyoon adds, “Unfortunately, Mayor Han died in January 1995 due to a car accident. The family decided to close the carnival as no one had the interest to take over. It’s a real shame though, the carnival could’ve continued until today if Mayor Han’s children took over.”

You nod at the information they gathered. You then ask, “So what was the fishy thing in the search results?”

“There’s no result for what happened after they shut down the carnival. Nothing, really,” Chanhee says as he shows you his laptop. You see nothing. There are no news and articles about the new company taking over the land or the carnival’s revival. “Shouldn’t the news about the revival spread? Korea loved the carnival and would want to experience riding the rides again, but there’s nothing.”

“That is weird,” you tell them. “Thank you for the research you’ve done. Tell me if there’s anything new you find.”

They nod at you and continue their work, while you continue to group the rides. When you’re done, you call SF9 to gather again in a circle to discuss the plan you have in mind.

“Inseong, Jaeyoon, and Chanhee have done their part in researching the carnival’s history,” you tell them. “The carnival was open from 1983 until Mayor Han died in 1995. There’s no news about what happened after. Anyway, what we need to do now is to gather evidences around the carnival and see if we can make inferences from them.”

“I was wondering, since there are workers who came here, they might have cleaned the place already. Do you think we can still find evidences?” Sanghyuk asks.

“We find what we can find, right?” Youngbin tells him.

“I agree with Youngbin,” you tell Sanghyuk. “We find whatever we think can be evidence and go from there.”

“I see,” he tells you. “Sorry, I don’t feel at ease with the carnival.”

“We all don’t feel at ease, but we’re all together so there’s nothing to be afraid of,” you comfort him. “Anyway, let me continue with what I was discussing. I divided the carnival into regions.”

 

> Region 1: Rollercoaster – You, Seokwoo, Youngkyun  
>  Region 2: Ferris wheel – Youngbin, Jaeyoon, Chanhee  
>  Region 3: Carousel – Inseong, Sanghyuk, Juho  
>  Region 4: Bumper cars – Youngbin, Taeyang, Youngkyun  
>  Region 5: Vikings – Jaeyoon, Sanghyuk, Seokwoo

“You may start looking at evidences at your region after this talk. The most important thing is that we compile our evidences before we head to sleep. Also, it’s important that the teams stick together because we know how deaths happen here, right?”

“Shouldn’t it be better if we all stick together instead?” Youngbin asks. “If danger happens to anyone of us, we can attend to each other easily.”

They all agree to Youngbin’s idea. You brush your hair and take a deep breath. “Okay, I see what you mean. If we all look at the same place though, it’s going to take more time. Are you all okay with that?”

They slowly nod at you. You see how they want to stick together despite how long it’ll take for you to solve the case. You smile at them and say, “Okay then, we’ll all stick together. Everyone’s safety is important and I don’t want risking anyone’s lives in this mission.”

They feel relieved. “Thanks for accepting my suggestion,” Youngbin tells you.

“No, thank you for making me realize that everyone here is important too,” you tell him.

“Shall we go rest for the meantime? We’re going to need a lot of energy if we want to have progress tonight,” Sanghyuk suggests.

“Good idea,” Chanhee says as he shuts down his laptop and goes to the sofa to sleep.

You all lay down your sleeping bags and do the same.

You hope that you can gather evidence tonight while making sure all of you are safe. You fall asleep afterwards.

 

 

Jaeyoon clings to you as you make your way to the rollercoaster. “We should’ve gone to the rides in the morning! Going to rides at night is so creepy, and there’s not even much light around!” He tells you.

“Jaeyoon, stop whining,” Chanhee butts in. “I should be the one getting scared, not you!”

“I am not whining! I am expressing my disbelief in going out at night. Please, let’s do this tomorrow when the sun is shining. I don’t mind if tomorrow is going to be scorching hot!”

“Can you just shut your mouth for a while?”

“I get more scared when I don’t talk so let me be! I don’t even bug you, okay?”

You shake your head at their argument. “Guys, tone it down. And Jaeyoon, we’re all together so nothing bad is going to happen, okay?”

“I am still scared nevertheless!”

You sigh. You realize that you have to be strong for the members who get scared easily, like Jaeyoon. You also realize that you will be responsible for almost everything that happens to everyone since you’re the person assigned to do this mission. You slowly get nervous, but seeing SF9 happy makes you feel at ease. You slowly get at ease when they’re by your side.

“We’re here,” Juho says as he stops walking. “This is the rollercoaster, the tallest ride in the carnival. The most wanted ride as well.”

They all stop walking and look at the ride in front of them. _“Wow, this is scary,”_ you tell yourself. You notice how the ride looks like it’s in its good condition despite not being used for a long time.

“Do you think there’s any evidence on the machine?” Taeyang asks you.

You are about to answer when someone else answers for you. “You won’t find out until you ride it yourself.”

You look behind you to see Chanyeol, the guy who welcomed you at the entrance earlier. “Why are you here?” You ask him.

He smiles at you. “I was wondering if you guys ate dinner already so I went here. I guess I might have interrupted your business instead.”

“No, we’re just starting. Thanks for the concern though,” you tell him as you pray that he’ll leave after you talk.

“Again, you have my number. Just call me when you need anything,” he says as he turns back and leaves.

Youngkyun goes to you again and says, “It’s creeping me out that he appears whenever we’re about to do something. I seriously don’t trust him.”

Sanghyuk places his arm over Youngkyun’s shoulder. “Come on, it’s nothing! You’re stressing yourself. Let the man be.”

“I still don’t trust him though,” he answers back at Sanghyuk. “Anyway, should we ride that? I mean, we don’t even know if we should touch the rides. We also don’t know if the ride is working as well.”

“Should we ride the rollercoaster?” You ask everyone.

“No, I don’t think we need to ride the rollercoaster for evidence,” Youngbin answers.

“No, everyone’s safety is important,” Inseong answers.

“No, you know me,” Jaeyoon answers.

“Yes, if we can gather evidence by riding it then why not?” Sanghyuk answers.

“No, I don’t think the rollercoaster is working,” Seokwoo answers.

“Yes, if we have to ride this for evidences then we should,” Juho answers.

“No, I have the same reason as Inseong’s,” Taeyang answers.

“No, we can find evidence without riding the rollercoaster,” Youngkyun answers.

“No, it’s basically dangerous to do so,” Chanhee answers.

“I made a decision,” you as after you make up your mind. “Youngbin and Zuho, check the machine if the ride works. I’m going to ride the rollercoaster.”

“What? Are you serious?” Jaeyoon asks in hysteria.

Everyone is shocked with your answer. You sigh and explain, “Look, if none of you is going to initiate, we’re not going to have any progress here. I’m going to volunteer myself to ride the rollercoaster. The rest can look for evidence at the ground.”

“I’m joining you,” Youngkyun answers. “We have to be brave enough to look for evidences even at the most dangerous places. At the end of the day, evidence remains evidence. We need it, and we must get it whatever we take.”

They all nod at Youngkyun’s reasoning. You ask him, “Are you sure you’re joining me?”

“Yes, I am joining you. I’m not going to let you ride the rollercoaster alone.”

You nod. You then ask Youngbin and Juho about the machine. They say that it’s working, although they’re not really sure if it’s safe enough to ride on. You thank them anyway. You then give Youngkyun a parachute bag in case something bad happens at the top.

You now give final instructions to the team before riding.  “Youngbin and Juho are going to take care of the machine while Youngkyun and I ride the rollercoaster. The rest of you can either look for evidence or make sure that nothing happens with all of us. Are we good?”

“As long as we’re all alive after this ride, we’re good,” Inseong tells you.

You and Youngkyun head for the rollercoaster seats. You sat by each other so that if anything happens, you can attend to each other quick.

“Are you ready?” You ask Youngkyun.

“As ready as you are,” he replies back.

You signal Juho and Youngbin to start the machine. The ride starts slowly, so you and Youngkyun still feel at ease. You slowly reach the top of the rollercoaster, and then it stops. You start to get nervous already.

“I don’t feel good,” you tell him.

“Me neither,” he tells you.

“If anything happens, pull the parachute string when I tell you to do so.”

He only nods.

“Holy shit, the metal collapsed! Everyone, move away from the ride!” Juho shouts as he sees the metal starting to collapse from the tracks.

The worse part: the metal collapses right in front of the rollercoaster seats.

And at that moment, the seats move again.

“Fuck,” you mutter to yourself. You look at Youngkyun who’s looking at you as well.

“Shit, what do we do?” He asks you in panic.

You try your best not to panic even if the seats are starting to fall from the tracks. “At the count of three, pull the parachute string, okay?”

You hear the other members scream your name and Youngkyun’s name so you waste no time and count to three. You manage to pull the parachute string you have. On the other hand, Youngkyun has difficulties pulling his string.

“Hey, I can’t pull my string!” He screams at the top of his lungs.

Without thinking twice, you try to reach Youngkyun as he falls down his seat. You manage to get a hold of his torso so you decide to secure him in a tight hug.

You notice the other members feel relieved when they see you slowly reaching the ground. It is also a relief that nothing happens to the rollercoaster seats or all of you are probably dead at the moment.

After a few minutes, you and Youngkyun finally reach the ground. The first thing you do is check if he’s still conscious, which he still is. You feel extremely relieved. Both of you survives the horrifying experience of that rollercoaster ride.

“I’m glad everyone here is safe,” Youngbin tells after he calms you and Youngkyun down. “Let’s call it a day. I don’t think we can continue knowing that our friends experienced a terrifying ride earlier.”

You sigh. You still want to continue to look for evidences, but you see the worried look on everyone’s faces and back down. They’re right; you should call it a day.

“Did you find anything while we were up?” You ask them. They show you a bunch of stuff they collected while you were riding the rollercoaster. “That’s a relief,” you tell them.

“Hey, was there something written on your parachute a while ago?” Juho asks you as he looks at your parachute. You shake your head and ask why. Instead of answering, he gives you your parachute. You notice red stains on your parachute so you decide to open it up. The guys gather around you as you slowly fix the parachute on the ground.

All of you get scared with the written numbers on your parachute.

 

> _1205012205 020506151805 09 11091212 251521_

“This is giving me the chills,” Sanghyuk says after reading. “Wait…did he write this in blood? The shade of red reminds me of blood.”

You all look at each other in confusion. “Let’s head back to the carnival’s office, now!” You tell them. They all follow you as they run away from the rollercoaster.

You suddenly feel that tonight is a night you would rather indulge yourself in a deep sleep or rather stay awake for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

> _Day 1 Entry_
> 
> _Fantastic Night Carnival – ran from July 1983 to January 1995; owned by Seoul’s former mayor Seongho Han; no articles about what happened after the carnival was closed_
> 
> _Newspaper page – ripped_
> 
> _May 23, 1982 – Seoul’s election have been_  
>  Seongho Han wins against Jinyoung  
>  “I will serve Seoul in peace and order  
>  Han will be in office starting on July.
> 
> _Writings on the rollercoaster’s operating machine – “Mantendu zure promesa. Leku hau jabea izango dut hil ondoren.”_
> 
> _(Translation)_  
>  Keep your promise.  
>  I will own this place after you die.
> 
> _Writings on your parachute – “1205012205 020506151805 09 11091212 251521”_
> 
> _(Translation)_  
>  Leave before I kill you.
> 
> _Chanyeol Park – someone who lives near the carnival; met at the entrance of the carnival and at the rollercoaster before work_
> 
> _Rode the rollercoaster with Youngkyun, an accident happened but everything is under control._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not really a big thing but i forgot to add a few details over the day 1 entry! basically it's just meeting chanyeol and the ride at the rollercoaster~ also, this chapter isn't really long, i really am not a fan of doing a bunch of word vomit ;; kudos and comments are much appreciated as usual <3
> 
> enjoy reading!
> 
> (ps. not sure if i could update tomorrow, i'll try to prioritize my bestfriend's love story hehe)

Day 2

You are still sleeping when you feel the rays of sunlight hitting you. You want to sleep more, but you remember that you still have work to do so you wake up. You see the boys still sleeping in the most awkward positions. You softly let out a chuckle at them.

You remember what happened last night and sigh. You realize how risky it was to ride a machine you weren’t sure if it was working perfectly or not. You’re thankful you and Youngkyun are safe. If any of you died, you all are at risk in losing your job.

Speaking of Youngkyun, you see him reading a book by the sofa.

“Hey, are you fine now?” You ask him.

He smiles at you and puts down his book. “Last night was an experience I’ll never forget,” he shares. “It’s a scary experience, but I’m fine now. It kind of prepared me as well for the future assignments I’ll have.”

You smile at him as well. “I’m glad to hear that. Have you eaten already?”

He shakes his head. You feel bad knowing that he hasn’t eaten yet. Moreover, you realize that you don’t have any food with you. You brush your hair in frustration. You then look at the others who still remain asleep, except for Taeyang who’s approaching the two of you.

“Good morning,” he greets both of you. “Have you guys eaten?”

“Sadly, there’s no food,” Youngkyun answers.

“I guess we’re going to starve then,” Taeyang jokes. He then looks at you and asks, “Do you know any convenience store around here?”

You shake your head. They sigh. “Sorry guys, I’m not familiar around this place,” you tell them.

“Let’s just look for food before the guys wake up,” Youngkyun suggests.

You and Taeyang nod. You are starting to fix yourself when someone knocks on the door of the carnival’s office. The three of you look in confusion.

“Should we open the door?” Youngkyun asks you.

“I think it’s the guy from yesterday,” Taeyang guesses.

You walk through the sleeping boys and open the door. You see a new guy. He’s smaller than the one that visited you yesterday, _Chanyeol_ , and is also much younger too. You assume that he’s the same age as Youngkyun.

“Who are you?” You ask the new guy.

“Sorry, my cousin Chanyeol can’t go today,” he answers. “I’m Jihoon Park. Chanyeol told me that you didn’t have food with you so I brought some you could eat,” he says as he shows you his plastic bags full of food.

You look at Taeyang and Youngkyun. They nod, signaling that you should accept the bags. _“Pft, there are no second thoughts when it comes to food,”_ you think.

You skeptically get the food from Jihoon’s hands and thank him.

“There’s my number inside the bags if you need something,” he tells you. “Chanyeol won’t be able to answer your calls during his working hours so I’m the one in charge of looking after you. I’ll go now,” he says as he turns back and leaves.

“Who was that?”

You look at Juho who’s finally awake. The rest of the boys are starting to wake up as well.

“Oh, it is Chanyeol’s cousin, Jihoon. He gave us food,” you tell him.

Juho just nods and goes to the office’s bathroom. You, Taeyang, and Youngkyun look at each other again.

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird?” Taeyang asks you. “I mean, it’s strange that he came at the time when we were about to look for food.”

“Now that I think of it, the whole ordeal of someone checking us out is strange,” Youngkyun shares.

You start to get worried after hearing their thoughts. “We have to be extra careful in the next few days,” you tell them. “I think someone else is watching over us.”

They nod at you. The three of you then proceeds to give out the food and start to eat.

 

 

All of you are done with your morning routines, so you all sit around in a circle and start discussing your agenda for the day.

“I have thought of a possible motive from the evidence we’ve gathered yesterday,” you start. “Based from the writings on the rollercoaster’s operating machine, Mayor Han must have promised that he’ll give the carnival to someone after he dies. The problem is, the carnival closed down after Mayor Han died. There are two possible reasons I think of as to why the carnival closed down. One, the Han family had no idea who Mayor Han promised the carnival to. Two, the person Mayor Han promised to must have died before Mayor Han died.”

“Your motive makes sense,” Taeyang speaks. “The carnival would still be open if the family knew who to give the carnival to, or if the person who’s given the carnival to is still alive.”

“I don’t know why, but I feel like the person is dead,” Jaeyoon opens up.

“If the person is dead, then shouldn’t everything be peaceful?” Sanghyuk asks. “The carnival should either be left as is or just be converted into a new establishment.”

“That’s the scary part,” Juho answers him. “I’d like to think that this person has grudges on Mayor Han. If this person is dead, then his ghost is the one to blame for all the accidents and deaths that happened after the carnival closed.”

You all nod at Juho’s suggestion. You all fall silent after.

“So,” you start again after regaining yourself. “Mayor Han might have promised to carnival to someone close to him, but that person died before Mayor Han did. The grudges might come from that person’s desire to own the carnival since…who wouldn’t want to own a carnival, right?”

They nod at you. You slowly feel at ease as you start to connect the dots of the case.

“Now, we need to know who this person is and how are we going to stop the person from causing more accidents in this carnival,” you say. “Also, I can’t think of anything with the other evidences so I’m leaving those to you. Please tell me if you find anything with the evidences so we can solve this faster.”

“What do we do next then?” Seokwoo asks you.

“We then go to the Ferris wheel.”

 

 

“Finally, we’re going out during the day,” Jaeyoon speaks as you make your way through the ferris wheel. “This is less scary than going out during the night.”

“Yeah, this is safer,” Youngbin tells him. “I don’t think I can get over what happened last night.”

“Same,” you tell them. “I hope that accident brings me good luck in solving this case.”

“You can do it!” Youngbin cheers for you. “This is only our second day and you actually have a solid motive. You’ll solve this case in no time.”

“Thank you. You guys are a big help and I hope we can collaborate again in the future.”

“That’s sweet!” Jaeyoon says. “We hope we could work with you again as well!”

“We’re here!” Seokwoo shouts as he stops in front of the Ferris wheel.

Compared to the rollercoaster, you notice that the Ferris wheel seems to be newer. You notice how the place is cleaner too. _“I guess they managed to revive this while they were working,”_ you think.

“What do we do now?” Juho asks you.

“We’re going to do the same thing we did last night,” you tell them. They all look at you with their worried expressions. “I trust that there’s nothing wrong that will happen to us with the Ferris wheel. It seems that it has been fixed during the initial renovation of the workers of the Han family.”

“We just can’t ride one seat if we want to look for evidence inside the Ferris wheel,” Chanhee tells you.

You smile at him. “I’ve thought of that last night. The reason why we’re starting early is that we’re going to take time to look for evidence. The first thing we’ll do is to look for evidence at the ground, and then we look for evidence in the seats.”

“That’s a relief,” he tells you. “Who’s going to go with whom at the seats?”

“I’ve decided on that as well,” you reply. “You’ll all go alone. In that way, you’ll have to ride the Ferris wheel lesser and we’ll get to do our job faster. Juho and I will be the ones to control the operating machine. We’ll keep track of the seats we sat on so we can make sure we ride all the seats in the Ferris wheel. If you don’t find any evidence at the seats, it’s okay. Like what we said yesterday, we find what we can find. Are we all good?”

They all smile and nod. You smile at them too.

“Let’s do our work then.”

You all start to scatter and look for evidence. Sadly, luck isn’t on your side as you find no evidence. It’s a great thing that the others are great at finding evidence. They put the evidence they find on the bag you brought with you.

You continue to search for evidence for 15 minutes. You called the boys to have a break after. They all come to you and get the food you brought. They joke a lot while they eat, especially Sanghyuk and Jaeyoon. You’re happy that they give you the laughs while you are on work. Deep inside, you’re starting to miss them as you start to see the light in your assignment.

After your break, you resume your work. You and Juho start operating the machine. You realize that Juho isn’t really scary. He’s just awkward with people he recently meets, thus the _cold shoulder_ he’s giving you. He also teaches you how operate the Ferris wheel’s machine.

The other members start riding the Ferris wheel. There are 32 seats all in all, so they have to ride the Ferris wheel four times. You feel bad and think that they might get dizzy after they finish riding the Ferris wheel.

After the first ride, some members approach you and show the pieces of paper they got in the seats. You get them and place them in a separate bag you brought. You track where they found the pieces of paper while they go to the next seats they ride on. Juho starts the machine again for the next ride.

“I was wondering, shouldn’t Youngkyun be down here? I mean, is he alright after what happened yesterday?” Juho asked you after he started the machine.

You smile at him. “Oh, before we headed out I asked him if he could ride the Ferris wheel. He said he’s alright and would ride the Ferris wheel. I made sure he’s really willing, don’t worry.”

“Ah, that’s great to hear. Youngkyun’s the most fragile person in the group; the one that needs to be protected at all costs. I’m still worried, but I’m glad he’s getting out of his comfort zone in a way,” he shares.

Juho stops the machine after he speaks. The members get down and bring pieces of paper to you.

“Hey, are you guys still alright? Did any of you get dizzy?” You ask them.

They all shake their heads at you. You smile at them, although you also feel bad because you feel that they aren’t saying anything so they get the work done. You get touched at their dedication to finish the job.

Juho starts the machine again as the others go back to the seats. The last two rounds go smoothly so you finish your work earlier. All of you are exhausted while you go back to the carnival’s office. At the end of the day, you manage to get more evidence so it makes you feel better.

 

 

> _Day 2 Entry_
> 
> _Possible motive: Mayor Han promised someone the carnival, but that someone died and its ghost isn’t at peace knowing it wasn’t able to get the carnival._
> 
> _ There’s still no evidence as to who the person is behind the whole mess. _
> 
> _Newspaper – ripped_
> 
> _January 14, 1979- The official candidates_  
>  Running for mayor are Jinyoung Park and  
>  “I will do my best to serve the people if ever
> 
> _Writings on the Ferris wheel’s operating machine – “Hemen dena alda dezakezu, baina inoiz ez duzu inauterik izango.”_
> 
> _(Translation)  
>  You may change everything, but you will never have the carnival again.”_
> 
> _Pieces of paper from the Ferris wheel seats – A A A A C C D D E E E E E F G H H I L M N O O O P P R R S S S T T T_
> 
> _(Translation)  
>  Stop the dead from creating chaos, please._
> 
> _Jihoon Park – Chanyeol’s cousin; gave us food for the day_
> 
> _Everyone except Juho and you rode the Ferris wheel and thankfully, nothing happened._


End file.
